By Benjamin Seekings-Jenkinson, Second Year, Anthropology
I went into the Bath Film Festival showing of Rental family (2025) with few expectations other than it would be a comedy. I was somewhat right – the film is an easy watch, full of moments of humour but also hard-hitting intimacy.
Rental Family is moving and sufficiently builds each character to a level that we as an audience feel attached to them, despite the relatively short running time. The film raises very interesting and relevant topics about society in Japan, however it fails to explore these very topics in any substantial depth, choosing instead to focus on the feel-good American actor storyline.
The film centres around Philip (Brendan Fraser), a struggling white American actor living in Japan who gained relative fame through a well-known toothpaste commercial. He lives a lonely life in a small apartment from which, at night, he watches his happy neighbours in the apartments across from him.
He then lands a job working for small family rental service having arisen out of the high loneliness levels in Japanese society. Family rental companies allow people to hire an actor to fill the role of their husband, wife, friend, or family member, along with a whole host of other possibilities. However, quite quickly he is given two jobs with significant responsibility by his boss Shinji (Takehiro Hira). One is posing as an interviewer for a very famous but retired old film star and writer, and the other as the long-lost father to a little girl, whose mother needs Philip to help get her daughter into a prestigious school. For both roles the person in question must not discover he is a hired actor.
The film focuses on these two storylines and the relationships that Philip builds with the people he is, in a sense, deceiving. There is no character development in the storyline of the already friendly and kind Philip, or any twists that will make you cling to the edge of your seat, but the film beautifully portrays the intimate relationships that he forms with the people he meets.
Brendan Fraser’s performance perfectly portrays the bumbling character of Philip, and his acting brings a level of goofy light heartedness to the film which is thoroughly enjoyable. However, I was left with a feeling that I had missed out on the superb acting of both Takehiro Hira (playing Shinji, Philip’s boss) and Mari Yamamoto (playing Aiko, Philip’s boss and friend), who both had relatively little screen time compared to Brendan Fraser and Shannon Gorman (who excellently played the little girl Mia).
The characters of both Shinji and Aiko were hinted at having extremely interesting backstories and lives, but no further depth was given other than a couple of shockingly intriguing scenes. Don’t think that this depletes the story of the movie – but it did leave me wanting more from the two characters.
The director Hikari also injects serious themes around Japanese society into the film (the reason for the PG-13 rating) which are complex but, like the characters of Shinji and Aiko, are not explored in the story. This includes prostitution, the opposition of same sex marriage, domestic abuse, and alcoholism of Japanese businessmen (a phenomenon often referred to as a ‘Shibuya meltdown’).
Eleanor Bate
If this sounds heavy for a comfort film – that’s because it is, which is why it sometimes feels like the film hovers between a comfortable American storyline, and exploring the societal issues it presents – which it doesn’t. The most obvious theme I have not yet mentioned is that of rental families themselves, the ethics of which are occasionally but lightly touched upon. It is not, however, used to delve into the deeper Japanese societal issue of loneliness.
All that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and felt pleasantly touched by the emotional storyline of Brendan Fraser’s caring and likeable character. The acting all-round was spectacular, and the cinematography was beautiful. Expect a comfort film which feels like it is intended for a Western audience – but not any further depth to the important topics it presents.
As for the Bath Film Festival, the event was comfortable, well-organised, and the atmosphere was extremely friendly. There was a short introduction to the movie after it was made sure everyone was in their seats, and some film posters were given out at the end. I would recommend to any film lover.
Featured Image: IMDb/ Searchlight Pictures
Did you manage to catch Rental Family at Bath Film Festival?
